Card-golf

ABSTRACT

CARD-GOLF is a playing-card game that I invented for two to seven players. Its rules and scoring are closely simulated to embody the intricate strategies and enticing challenges of actual golf. It has its own special 50-card playing deck. It has three separate ‘courses’ that can be played. Each hole played is virtually guaranteed to be unique from any other hole played. Scores range from a ‘double eagle’ to a ‘triple bogey.’ Each player is dealt a set number of ‘clubs’ to begin every hole, the ‘pin’ is placed on the green depending upon the hole&#39;s par, and the players attempt to make the lowest score possible by gathering ‘point-clubs’, ‘green-clubs’, and ‘total-clubs’—all within the parameters of the rules of CARD-GOLF. Rounds may be ‘stroke play’, ‘match play’, or ‘skins play’.

[0001] Welcome to CARD-GOLF™, a fun card game that embodies all theintricate strategies and enticing challenges of actual goll.CARD-GOLF's™ three Courses change their pin-placements on every holethat is played to guarantee unique and exciting rounds. CARD-GOLFers™can play the Tour Course for the most equitable test (par-72/index-72),the Open Course for the most difflcult test (par-72/index-74), or theDesert Course for the least difficult test (par-72/index-70) of theirplaying skills.

[0002] Whether to play it safe and wait for the right opportunities toscore, or risk aggressively attacking the Course regardless ofpin-placements, CARD-GOLFers™ are rewarded with low scores or penalizedwith high scores depending upon their: Course management expertise, Clubselection, shot-making skills, ability to hole putts, and of course,some good old-fashioned luck.

[0003] CARD-GOLFer™ rounds can be stroke play, match play-, or skinsplay. The format chosen by the CARD-GOLFers™ alters only the strategieseach CARD-GOLFer™ will employ during competition.

[0004] Like actual golf, pin-placements in CARD-GOLF™ are influential indetermining how a CARD-GOLFer™ decides to play each hole. Some pins willinvite aggressive approach shots while other pins will demand the Coursemanagement expertise and shot-making skills of a Ryder Cup player justto manage par.

[0005] Another pivotal factor in producing good scores in CARD-GOLF™ isClub selection. Each CARD-GOLFer™ receives their allotment of Clubs fromthe Caddy (dealer) before teeing-off at each hole. The Clubs in eachCARD-GOLFers'™ Bag, coupled with how and when they are played,contributes greatly to a CARD-GOLFer's™ score.

[0006] CARD-GOLF™ Courses are designed to accommodate twosomes,threesomes, and foursomes (or more). CARD-GOLF™ Courses are set up toensure an equal number of chances for each CARD-GOLFer™ to tee-off(play) first on the par-3's, par-4's, and par-5's. Subsequently, eachCARD-GOLFer™ will also be given an equal number of chances to tee-offsecond, third, and fourth (or more) on each of the par-3's, par-4's, andpar-5's, guaranteeing fairness throughout an 18-hole round or a 72-holetournament.

[0007] To achieve this, the order of play amongst the CARD-GOLFers™ ispredetermined before the start of every round by the CARD-GOLFers™themselves and rotates after each hole, clockwise from the Caddy,regardless of a CARD-GOLFers'™ score on the previous hole. Likewise, theCaddy rotates after each hole played.

[0008] So prepare now to enjoy the exaltation of: sinking an eagle putt,chipping in from out of a bunker for birdie, draining a long birdieputt, getting up and down to save par from heavy rough, ripping amonster drive right down the middle of the fairway, hitting the perfectapproach shot, or wielding a sizzling putter. Prepare also to endure theagony of: missing a two-foot birdie putt, three-putting for bogey,trying to salvage par after a Bad-Tee-Shot, dealing with a nasty lie,paying the price for playing the ‘wrong’ Club, or cringing at the soundof water splashing after an errant shot.

[0009] The CARD-GOLF™ deck consists of 50 playing cards that are calledClubs. The Clubs are divided into four colored groups—Gold, Red, Green,and Blue. Each colored group contains twelve Clubs—a 10-Driver, the2-3-4-5-6-7-8 and 9-Irons, a Pitching Wedge—PW, a Sand Wedge—SW, and a1-Putter. The remaining two Clubs are the Bad-Tee-Shot Clubs—Hook andSlice.

[0010] OBJECT: each CARD-GOLFer™ tries to shoot as low a score per hole(and per round) as possible. To accomplish this, each CARD-GOLFer™attempts to accumulate as many points per hole as they can. Points areawarded based on three criteria—

[0011] 1) Each CARD-GOLF™ Ball Collected is worth 1-Point. There are atotal of seven CARD-GOLF™ Balls: one on each l-Putter, one on the Blue2-Iron, and two on the Gold 10-Driver (Big Gold).

[0012] 2) Collecting at least two Green-Clubs per hole is worth 1-Point.

[0013] 3) Collecting at least:

[0014] Tour Course—Five Clubs per hole is worth 1-Point.

[0015] Open Course—Six Clubs per hole is worth 1-Point.

[0016] Desert Course—Four Clubs per hole is worth 1-Point.

[0017] SCORING: There is a maximum total of 9 points possible on eachhole, depending on which Clubs are put in play on each hole by theCaddy.

[0018] Double Eagle—7, 8 or 9 Points-Collected on a hole.

[0019] Eagle—5 or 6 Points-Collected on a hole.

[0020] Birdie—3 or 4 Points-Collected on a hole.

[0021] Par—1 or 2 Points-Collected on a hole, or Collecting the numberof Clubs that equal the hole's par. (For example: Collecting Three Clubson a par-3, or Collecting Four Clubs on a par-4, is a Par-Save, if thereis no Water-Hazard penalty stroke).

[0022] Bogey—0 Points-Collected and fewer Clubs-Collected on a hole thansaid hole's par.

[0023] Double Bogey—0 Points-Collected and 0 Clubs-Collected on a hole.

[0024] Triple Bogey 0 Points-Collected, 0 Clubs-Collected, and going inthe Water-Hazard on on a hole.

[0025] Water-Hazard Penalty—A 1-Stroke Penalty is added to aCARD-GOLFers'™ score on any hole when said CARD-GOLFer™ carries Big Goldin their Bag and fails to Collect Big Gold on said hole. CARD-GOLFers'™carrying Big Gold in their Bags can take the Water-Hazard out of playsimply by making Big Gold their first play on said hole. However, iftheir Bag contains a Bad-Tee-Shot Club(s) Hook and/or Slice, then thisoption is nullified and the Water-Hazard remains in play for saidCARD-GOLFer™.

[0026] PLAY: CARD-GOLFers™ determine the order of play amongstthemselves. The Caddy (dealer) shuffles the deck and deals: For twosomes& threesomes—Five Clubs (one at a time) facedown to each CARD-GOLFer™ atthe start of each hole. For four-somes or more—Six Clubs (one at a time)facedown to each CARD-GOLFerm at the start of each hole. These Clubsconstitutes the CARD-GOLFers'™ Bag. The Caddy then Places-the-Pin bydealing: Four Clubs face-up on the Green for a par-4, Three Clubsface-up on the Green for a par-3, and Five Clubs face-up on the Greenfor a par-5. CARD-GOLF™ play flows clockwise from the Caddy with theCaddy always playing last. Each CARD-GOLFer™ plays one, and only one,Club at a time from their Bag on their turn during the hole's playrotation. If a CARD-GOLFer™ has the misfortune of having one or bothBad-Tee-Shot Club(s)—Hook and/or Slice—in their Bag, then that Club(s)(Hook and/or Slice) must be played before any other Club in the Bag.

[0027] If a CARD-GOlFer's™ Bag carries no Bad-Tee-Shot Club(s), thenthey may play any Club in their Bag, one per turn, during their turn.There are four options of play available to a CARD-GOLFer™: Collecting,Linking, Spiking-a-Link, or Laying-Up.

[0028] COLLECTING: To score Points, CARD-GOLFers™ must Collect-Clubs.Collecting Clubs is the process of playing one Club from theCARD-GOLFer's Bag during their turn to Collect-a-Club(s) lying on theGreen. Once a CARD-GOLFer™ has Collected the Clubs, they are immediatelyplaced face-up in front of said CARD-GOLFER™ (and off the Green) toallow each CARD-GOLFer to view them so they may make strategiccalculations based on their competitor(s) positioni(s) as play developson a hole.

[0029] To Collect-a-Club(s) lying on the Green, a CARD-GOLFer™ has twooptions—Collect-Directly or Collect-by-Linking. Collect-Directly simplyentails that a CARD-GOLFer™ plays a Club from their Bag toCollect-a-Club or combination of Clubs lying on the Green that equals innumerical value the numerical value of said Collecting-Club. Forexample, a CARD-GOLFer™ can play a 7-Iron from their Bag on their turnto Collect: one, two, or three other 7-Irons lying on the Green, or anycombination of Clubs lying on the Green that equals seven when addedtogether. So a 7-Iron can Collect one, two, or three 7-Irons, and/or a6-Iron+a 1-Putter, and/or a 5-Iron+a 2-Iron, and/or a 5-Iron+two1-Putters, and/or a 4-Iron+a 3-Iron, and/or a 4-Iron+a 2-Iron+a1-Putter, and/or a 4-Iron+three 1-Putters, and/or two 3-Irons+a1-Putter, and/or a 3-Iron+two 2-Irons, and/or a 3-Iron+a 2-Iron+two1-Putters, and/or a 3-Iron+four 1-Putters, and/or three 2-Irons+a1-Putter, and/or two 2-Irons+three 1-Putters.

[0030] A Pitching Wedge—PW—can only Collect other PWs, be it one, two,or three PWs. A Sand Wedge—SW—can only Collect other SWs, be it one,two, or three SWs. The Bad-Tee-Shot Clubs Hook and Slice have no powerto Collect any other Club(s).

[0031] All Club(s) lying on the Green are ‘unlinked’ (free) unless aCARD-GOLFer™ declares a Link. Links can be Collected or Spiked by anyCARD-GOLFER™ providing they carry in their Bag the Club capable ofCollecting said Link or said Spiked-Link.

[0032] LINKING: To Collect-by-Linking, a CARD-GOLFer™ plays one Clubfrom their Bag during their turn and places it directly onto an‘unlinked’ Club(s) lying on the Green. Said CARD-GOLFer™ then proclaimsa Link exists between the designated Clubs and simultaneously declaresthe Link's numerical value. The numerical value of a Link is the sumtotal of the Clubs being Linked. For instance, two or three 8-Irons canonly become a Link of ‘8’. A 7-Iron+a 1-Putter can only become a Link of‘8’. A 6-Iron+a 2-Iron can only become a Link of ‘8’. A 6-Iron+two1-Putters can only become a Link of ‘8’. A 5-Iron+a 3-Iron+can onlybecome a Link of ‘8’. A 5-Iron+a 2-Iron+a 1-Putter can only become aLink of ‘8’. A 5-Iron+three 1-Putters can only become a Link of ‘8’. Two3-Irons+a 2-Iron can only become a Link of ‘8’.

[0033] However, a 4-Iron+a 4-Iron can become a Link of ‘8’ or twomerged-Links of ‘4’. A 4-Iron+a 3-Iron+a 1-Putter can become a Link of‘8’ or two merged-Links of ‘4’. A 4-Iron+two 2-Irons can become a Linkof ‘8’ or two merged-Links of ‘4’. A 4-Iron+four 1-Putters can become aLink of ‘8’ or two merged-Links of ‘4’. Two 3-Irons+two 1-Putters canbecome a Link of ‘8’ or two merged-Links of ‘4’. Four 2-irons can becomea Link of ‘8’ or two merged-Links of ‘4’. Merged-Links are grouped asone Link.

[0034] The CARD-GOLFer™ creating a Link must carry in their Bag a Clubcapable of Collecting said Link. Itthe Link ‘survives’ through theplay's rotation, the CARD-GOLFer™ who created the Link must, on theirnext play: Collect said Link, create another Link of equal numericalvalue to said Link and merge them, Collect another Club(s) or anotherLink lying on the Green, or Spike their own said Link. No other playoption exists for said CARD-GOLFer™ while their Link lies on the Green.

[0035] SPIKING: Only the four 1-Putters and the Blue 2-Iron have thepower to Spike-a-Link. To Spike-a-Link, a CARD-GOLFer™ simply places a1-Putter or the Blue 2-Iron from their Bag directly onto an existingLink lying on the Green and declares that said Link is being Spiked.This changes the numerical value of said Link by adding one if theSpiking Club is a 1-Putter or by adding two if the Spiking Club is theBlue 2-Iron. Remember, merged-Links are always grouped as one Link.

[0036] The CARD-GOLFer™ Spiking-a-Link must carry in their Bag a Clubcapable of Collecting said Spiked-Link. Spiking-a-Link of ‘7’ with a1-Putter changes it to a Link of ‘8’. Spiking-a-Link of ‘7’ with theBlue 2-Iron changes it to a Link of ‘9’. There is no limit to the timesa Link can be Spiked providing the Spiking criteria is met each time.

[0037] A 1-Putter or the Blue 2-Iron lying unlinked on the Green cannotbe used by a CARD-GOLFer™ to Spike-a-Link.

[0038] In the unusual event a CARD-GOLFer™ wishes to Spike their ownLink, it is permitted providing that said CARD-GOLFer™ carries in theirBag both—the Club capable of Collecting the original Link and the Clubcapable of Collecting the Spiked-Link.

[0039] LAYING UP: When a CARD-GOLFer™ places a Club from their Bag ontothe Green during their turn of play and neither Collects, Links, orSpikes.

[0040] Upon completion of a hole, each CARD-GOLFer™ adds up the Pointsthey scored from Collecting Clubs and records their score on theCARD-GOLF™ scorecard. Play then rotates clockwise from the Caddy. TheCARD-GOLFer™ who played first at the just concluded hole now becomes theCaddy at the next hole and each CARD-GOLFer™ slides up one spot in theplay rotation. The ‘new’ Caddy places all the Clubs played from theprevious hole back into the deck so that all 50 Clubs will be shuffledand available to each CARD-GOLFer™ when play resumes at the next hole.

1. I claim that CARD-GOLF, a playing-card game for two to seven playerswith its unique rules and its special deck of 50 playing-cards, is myinvention.